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University of Stirling
From The Student RoomTSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > University of Stirling
 The University of Stirling is a university situated in Stirling in Scotland. It was created in 1967. The main campus at Stirling is about 3 miles out of Stirling city centre. There are additional small campuses in Inverness and Stornoway for nursing and midwifery students. FacilitiesLibrariesIT and ComputingComputer Labs- There are 24-hour labs in the Cottrell building, as well as computers in the library (not just in the main bit, if you keep walking past the RBR then you'll find another couple of computer rooms) and in Pathfoot building, as well as smaller labs in some of the halls of residence. SportsStirling is well-known for its excellent sporting facilities, and Sports Studies is a popular degree. The Sports Union is a powerful force on campus, comprising of 44 sports clubs ranging from Gaelic football, polo and capoeira to cheerleading and tennis. There are also plenty of sports scholarships, including a new football scholarship. The campus is home to plenty of national sports organisations as well, including the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland, the Scottish Institute for Sport, the Central Scotland Institute of Sport, the Scottish Triathlon Association and Scottish Swimming. As far as facilities on campus go, there are:
WelfareHealthcareAirthrey Park Medical Center is the campus clinic, with GPs, nurses and a dentist. It is used by the locals as well as students, but the service can be pretty sub-par and the receptionists and nurses tend to be really grouchy. It is located across and up the hill from Murray Hall, next to Geddes Court and directly across from AKD (and only a short walk from ASH and Ally Court), so it's in a really good location for students living on-campus. It is a requirement in your first year that you register with a local doctor, and pretty much everyone registers with Airthrey Park. Also, if you're unfamiliar with the system, everything is covered by the NHS. Don't ask where to pay ;) There is counselling and support available and widely accessible on campus, as well. ShopsIt's not a campus 'supermarket' and unless you want to continually pay well over the odds, don't do your main shopping there. Many items aren't priced a lot of the time, there's not an awful lot of choice and no receipts. Service is usually crap. There's a Tesco in town and a Co-op in Bridge of Allan, which you probably drove through on the way to the Uni (the town I mean, not the shop.) so I would advise you buy a couple of bags for life (the 60p black Tesco ones are usually pretty sturdy and the handles don't cut into your hands) and do your main stuff there. 8p noodles are a novelty which wears off eventually but the value foods are a godsend. RestaurantsOn the campus itself, there is a fast-food bar for chips, baguettes and burgers, Haldane's for a nice dinner, the Stir Café for a quick bite, and Studio does decent meals. In Bridge of Allan there are a couple nice places, including the Westerton Arms, which is a popular pub for special dinners out, romantic meals or even just getting away from students for a little while (trust me - you'll want to). Clive Ramsay's is supposed to be good, as well. Corrieri's Café, in Causewayhead, is really unpretentious and delicious. It's more of a family restaurant, but for good Italian food it doesn't get any better. In Stirling there are plenty of fast food places, but one nicer restaurant that does great student deals is Dr. Gorman's. They do two-for-ones on starters, mains and desserts, as well as brilliant cocktails, in a really modern, relaxed and funky setting (they have a Wii you can play with while you're waiting for your food, and a jukebox that's free until around 5). There are also plenty of nice Indian places (steer clear of the dodgy ones that leave menus in halls if you're looking for a nice meal out - a few to try are Indian Cottage and India Brasserie), and if you really want a nice meal in a pretty restaurant with no students in sight, try the Portcullis, up near the castle. No. 2 Baker Street, a nice pub across from Sportster's, does good, cheap pub grub and you'll be surrounded by locals. Sportster's also does yummy food but it's a bit more expensive. For ordering in, there is always Domino's (they hand out two-for-one vouchers during Fresher's Week). BanksThere's a Bank of Scotland/Halifax on campus. There's also a Royal Bank of Scotland in Bridge of Allan, about a mile or so down the road from campus. In Stirling there is a Lloyd's TSB, a Halifax Bank of Scotland (open on Saturdays until 3), and a Royal Bank of Scotland. Transport'First' buses have special purple and blue Uni-link buses (easier to spot but you can use any of the first buses which have Uni written on the side IF they're actually running there, ask first though), it's a £1.30 student return (so you can go to Tesco and into town) and SUSA has a couple of minibuses which do the same trip. You can get a bus from the bus-stop near the MacRobert centre and from the bus stop near the checkpoints you drive through when your parents drop you off at the Uni. Buses are running all the time, so during the day you normally don't have to wait more then 10 mins for the next one to get there. Careers servicePart-time jobsReligious facilitiesThere is a Chaplaincy in the Atrium, right next to the Student Union, and they provide all sorts of religious and pastoral services. It's a nice, quiet place to go, and although it's predominantly Christian, they also provide for other religions as well. The Christian Union is a popular campus society, as is the Christians in Sport group. As well as a Christian Union there is also a Pagan Society and Islamic Society. The Chaplaincy does a Catholic Mass on Wednesday evenings. There are several churches in town, including a Baptist church, and in Dunblane (a ten minute drive) there is a beautiful Church of Scotland cathedral for Sunday services.
SocialFreshers week can be good it just depends on the things they have on. Most places in town and at the beat (the club by campus) will be absolutely heaving so wherever you decide to go go early, normal uni nights don't apply in freshers week as everywhere is as busy as the next but general rule is:
Be warned, though, Friday and Saturday are not good student nights, and you'll hardly find anyone out. It's when all the local schoolkids head out. Fubar thursday is huge, but Dusk does £1 entry tokens and £1 drinks in the last hour and it's usually really busy as well. There are plenty of people around who are loyal to one or the other, but some hit both on the same night, as they're only a five minute walk apart. There are usually nights on in the union as well but again it can be touch and go, there were 10 days of stuff last year and there were some good nights. They will be pretty well publicised so you won't miss out, but they sell out pretty quickly and there is usually a queue in the Atrium to buy tickets on the day of a big event. Bars, Pubs and clubsPopular bars in town are Pivo, Varsity, Sportster's, the City Walls (although they don't appreciate students very much), and Outback, which are all under a 5 minute walk from the town center. Pivo and Varsity are next door to each other and right up the road from the City Walls, and in the other direction is Sportster's, No. 2 Baker Street (much more of a local pub than a student bar), and Drouthy Neebors, which is a funky place that does a good pub quiz. Outback is in the other direction, and is right across the road from Dr. Gorman's, which does good food and cocktail deals. EventsClubs and societiesMany! There's a Freshers Fair sometime in the first week so you can meander around, pick up some freebies and sign up for clubs. They range from political societies, who hold debates regularly, to the Chocolate Appreciation Society and the Rock Society. There is a complete list of all clubs and societies on the Student Association website, susaonline.org.uk, and if there isn't one to interest you it's pretty easy to found your own.
Composed almost entirely of very friendly people – Fred and Nix (President and VP) are very easy to talk to, the meetings tend to be banterful (this is a word you’ll hear a lot on campus) and until our nightclub closed (mutter mutter) the society was responsible for organising Rock Night, which has now moved to Oboru. The Rock Soc also organise discounted transport to gigs and nights out.
Stirling University’s Student Newspaper (shortlisted for the Herald Best Student Newspaper award, no less). Meetings are usually Mondays at 7pm, followed by drinks/pub quiz in Studio. First meeting will be an explanation of how everything works, then the editors will stand up and introduce themselves (News, Politics, Sports, Features, Music, Opinion and Arts). After Dale, our lovely editor, has finished his introduction, the eds stand up and you basically wander over to whichever section takes your fancy. You can go to more than one section, obviously The eds will then ask if you have any ideas or discuss theirs with you, and just plan out a rough idea. They’ll probably ask for your email address so’s they can keep in touch, and bingo! You know people already. Free to join!
Manga and Anime Society of Stirling University. Meetings once a week, usually Thursday at 6 in a small lecture room. Meetings vary…you could be watching live action Bleach one week and trying sake the next.
AccommodationAccommodation policyOvernight Guests - the official policy is, if you want an overnight guest you need to sign them in (you'll be provided with a Hall Card soon after arrival) and they will pay £12 per night for a stay in one of the guest rooms or one of your friends who will be away that night will sign them into their room. That's the official policy. Don’t push your luck by sneaking people up too soon, and as long as you behave it doesn't seem the porters will mind too much. There is an official disciplinary procedure for unauthorised guests though, so please take that on board. There is no 'signing in' (where one of your on-campus friends wants to come in after 11 and you need to sign them in and they show their student card) during in exam periods and if someone makes a complaint about noise then, the porters have to take it v. seriously. FacilitiesResidencesFirst years will probably be in Halls. Each individual hall brings something different to the table, but all halls tend to be quite similar in some respects. All halls have cleaners in daily to empty the bins, all halls have nasty kitchens with teensy fridges, and all rooms are quite small. First year halls are AKD, ASH, Geddes and Murray; all other accommodation is flats or chalets. All residences are self-catering.
Andrew Stewart Hall - En-suite, strange dripping noise when it rains (inside the walls) and big spacious kitchen. Lovely porters, mostly. Girl to boy ratio is quite high, so the bitchiness level is there (I suppose boys don't mind slumming it in a shared shower). Murray Hall - Biggest first-year hall with around 300 students, best location as it's closest to the bridge across the loch. Hasn't been done up yet, but has the best porters - Jim, Kenny and Frank are legends. Kitchens of a low standard, sharing with up to 18 or so others isn't great, but it's really good fun and chances are you'll make your best friends there. If you're real lucky you'll get a room in the 2.33 to 2.40 range; these eight rooms are on the ground floor and have a kitchen and two showers between them which is the best ratio in the hall. There's a TV room with a huge video lending library, a couple of pool tables and foosball, social area and a computer room that you're free to use. Also some vending machines in the social area that can be handy if you run out of food and it's raining/you need to keep working. The East Wing was refurbished more recently than the West, and their desks run lengthways rather than widthways, making the room feel a bit smaller, but also giving better window access. They've also got better carpeting and are a bit cleaner, but the differences are minimal. AK Davidson Hall - AKD is another first-year hall. Not as much of a party hall, but still brilliant banter and some of the best people you meet on nights out are from AKD. A bit smaller than Murray, right across the road from Geddes and the Medical Centre, it's a really good location and just sort of middle of the road facilities (not done up like ASH, but definitely nicer than Geddes or Murray). Alexander Court - Affectionately referred to as Ally Court. Quite modern and smart, blocks of flats comprising of flats of up to 7 bedrooms, so the person to kitchen ratio is much better than in halls. Mostly made up of 2nd, 3rd and 4th years, but there are also a fair share of 1st years who get sent there when halls are full (trust - that's not a bad thing!). Quite secluded, about a 15 minute walk from the Atrium and in a really pretty setting above the rugby pitches. Fraser, Donnelly, Muirhead and Polwarth - Polwarth is joined with ASH when it comes to social activities. Most commonly 6-person flats, 2 bathrooms, one kitchen-living area, Dot the porter is great and will make the occasional sporadic room check to make sure the furniture isn't composting. Not first-year halls specifically, although there are some who live there.
John Forty's - Flats of 7 bedrooms, each flat a bit bigger than in the other complexes. You compromise with the location - it's on Causewayhead Road, so it's not really close to campus or town, but it's right on the bus route so realistically it's only about 5 mins to each, and it's walkable if you have the time and energy. It's quite modern, so the flats are nice, and they have living rooms (Union Street doesn't). Chalets - The chalets are individual Scandinavian-style cottages with 5 bedrooms. They are at both the top of campus, right near the Pathfoot Building (Pendreich Way), and the bottom of campus, 2 minutes from Causewayhead Road (Spittal Hill). The Spittal Hill chalets are lots of fun, on a warm day everyone takes the furniture outside to sunbathe, barbeque and kick a ball around. It's all 2nd year students and above, and it's really relaxed and a lot more independent than any of the other flats. Chalets are very popular accommodation for people on sports teams. Private sectorStudent unionPricesStudent CardYour student card is also your library card, so when you access your library record, there is a number on the front of your card which you type in. It acts as student I.D. for the bus, the student union, and for claiming your lovely student discounts. Try not to lose it, it costs £10 to replace (as does your Hall card) so if you do it's not the end of the world, and you need it for the exams so the folks walking around can check you're who you say you are. EnvironmentCampus - we have ducklings, ducks, squirrels, bunnies, rabbits, swans and one noisy goose. There are maps of the campus in the recycling leaflets and visitors guides you can pick up in your hall reception, and I would recommend having a wander around to get your bearings and have a rough idea where everything is. The Cottrell building is a right bugger to find your way around, but you can ask, and when you wander you'll probably go past rooms you'll need to find in the future anyway. ArchitectureLocal areaStirling is a medium-sized city in Central Scotland and has a wide range of shops, attractions, pubs and clubs. It is about an hour's drive from the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow and half an hour from the town of Falkirk. Teaching qualityExcellent teaching ratings for economics, sociology, theology, business studies, psychology and English show Stirling’s strength in the arts and social sciences. Among the sciences, only environmental science matched this. Applying to StirlingThinking of applying to Stirling? Why not read some Personal Statements which were used for applying here? Other Stirling ArticlesWhy not read these other Stirling Articles? Links | 
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